Canon City News

Cañon City residents want trashy properties cleaned up

Mayor Preston Troutman talks about one of Cañon City's various master plans during Friday's Coffee with the Mayor event at Good Thyme Cafe. (Carie Canterbury/ Daily Record)

Cañon Proud Clean-Up begins March 21

Local officials and businesses once again are gearing up for the annual Cañon Proud Clean-Up Campaign. A limited number of trash vouchers for free disposal of household trash, furniture, construction debris, brush, logs, leaves and yard waste will be available on a first-come, first-served basis to Cañon City and Fremont County residents beginning on March 21 and ending April 30. Trash vouchers are good for free disposal of ½ ton (one regular pick-up truck bed filled no higher than the sideboards) at Twin Enviro's "Phantom Landfill" at 2500 County Road 67 (north of the airport), Penrose, 372-6671. (Amounts of trash in excess of ½ ton will be charged extra on site.) Hours of operation are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Cañon City residents may pick up a voucher from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at City Hall, 128 Main St. Persons living in unincorporated areas of Fremont County may pick up a voucher from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday (they are closed on Friday) at Room 106 of the Fremont County Administration Building, 615 Macon Ave. Proof of residency is required when obtaining a voucher. Only one voucher will be issued per household. Free disposal will end on at 4 p.m. April 30. All loads must be covered, and no commercial haulers or contractors qualify for these vouchers.

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Partners in this event include Twin Enviro Services, R.D. Recycling, Junk Masters, and Call it Gone Metal Recyclers. In addition to the trash disposal vouchers, the following partners will accept recycling, appliances, vehicles, and specific metals; please contact them directly if their services are desired:

R.D. Recycling, located at 1501 High St. (719-641-0630 or 275-2052) will accept appliances Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for free disposal. They will also pick up large loads in bulk. Brass, aluminum, and copper will be purchased at prevailing rates. They will purchase automobile batteries for $5 each.

Call It Gone Metal Recyclers (call or text 671-7062) will pick up all cars, trucks and campers. They will also pick up all metals, appliances and batteries and they have clean up services.

As always, no tires, dead animals or hazardous wastes will be accepted at any site.

Talk of cleaning up yards, getting rid of clutter and sprucing up the U.S. 50 corridor dominated the bulk of Friday's monthly Coffee with the Mayor event held at Good Thyme Cafe.

Mayor Preston Troutman met with a group of about 25 citizens during the hour-long, informal chat. He and some members of the city council also met with the residents individually, listening to concerns and suggestions about how to make Cañon City the best — and tidiest — it can be.

Residents expressed displeasure with the worn "The Fun Begins in Cañon" banner hanging across U.S. 50 and the piles of tree branches and debris littering the St. Scholastica property, as well as some structures that are half-burned and abandoned scattered through town. Troutman said the City is working to garner some community block grants that would help take care of the abandoned properties. It would cost the city tens of thousands of dollars to tear down and remove a structure, and there are about 40 such properties within the city limits.

A previous council had the city enforce a case so far as to send an individual to jail for 10 days, Troutman said, for not addressing his property that had continually violated city ordinances.

"All that man did was take the stuff to a different site in the county, and when he got out of jail he brought it back to Cañon City," he said.

The banner hanging above U.S. 50 is expected be replaced by Memorial Day weekend, according to Lisa Hyams, executive director for the Cañon City Chamber of Commerce. The city must have approval by Colorado Department of Transportation to use the right of way to hang a sign over the highway.

"The only reason that the older one is not down at this time is we don't want to have to go back and reapply all over again, and they have the right to say no," she said. "The way the banner works is it can be unhooked, you can put a new one out and pull it right over."

The new banner will have different interchangeable segments that will offer space to give reference to community events and landmarks.

"We want to bring a lot more color to it, and we want to bring a lot more vibrancy and more awareness," Hyans said.

Troutman said the community cleanup effort will require everyone working together.

"It takes not just the city council, the mayor and the administration," he said. "There is a lot to do to, and it will take all of us as a group of people."

Troutman also talked about continuing to move forward with the city's master plans, working on a menu of events and itineraries to offer visitors to the area, having a shuttle service on Main Street during the summer months, having local students become more involved in city government and the upcoming Cañon Proud Clean-Up Campaign.

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